Jury deliberations in Whitehead trial continues Wednesday

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The fate of three 21-year-old men lies in the hands of a jury.

Dondre Davis, Duong Nyugen and Stephen Harper are accused of the first degree murder of 8-year-old Paris Whitehead Hamilton. Police said the trio fired dozens of shots in her home in 2009.  After three hours into deliberation, the jury left the court house Tuesday night, but not before Judge Nancy Moate Ley verbally barred them from watching television, reading paper or partaking in any other media. Earlier in the day, the jury heard closing statements from each attorney for each defendant. A lawyer for Davis said the state’s star witness wasn’t credible.

Nyugen’s lawyer said he was falsely accused and Harper’s attorney said he should dace a lesser charge because he never fired a gun.

Prosecutors fired back, insisting all three men are guilty of murdering the child as a group, stressing that they can each be convicted of first degree murder, even is Whitehead wasn’t the intended target.

“A bullet like this fractured the side of her, causing life ending damage to her little 8-year-old body,” one prosecutor said.

The jury was escorted to their cars Tuesday night and it’s expected that they’ll reach a verdict Wednesday.